How to swaddle a newborn

I just YouTubed "How to swaddle a baby" and was disappointed by the videos for a variety of reasons.  (The #1 reason was almost all of them were swaddled WAY too loose to "count" as swaddling.)

Check definition #3:
swad·dle  (swdl)

tr.v. swad·dled, swad·dling, swad·dles

1. To wrap or bind in bandages; swathe.

2. To wrap (a baby) in swaddling clothes.

3. To restrain or restrict.

Anyway--- as I sit here pregnant with #3, I realize for the amount of friends I showed my version of swaddling to we should have a made a video by now.  

We swaddled baby #1 til 7 mos and baby #2 til 9 mos.  We swear by it, and while we know everyone has different things that work, hope this video helps you swaddle if you're planning on it!

Here it is!

To-Do List for Baby #3

To-Do List before Baby #3 arrives:
Here is my list which includes preparing the transition from family of four to family of five.
I hope it's useful to you!  Click the "to do" items that have links for a guide to that item.
(Z= my almost 6 year old, T= my almost 3 year old)

Ideally before 37 weeks:

• Install carseat behind driver, move Z to 3rd row of minivan, move T to Z's old spot for easy carpool pickup✓
• Convert toddler bed back to a crib/raise mattress/ put on mobile ✓
• Put swing together and bring downstairs  ✓
• Figure out a Plan A, B, C for where the girls will go during labor AND add "pick-up" names to the school list  ✓
• Collect hand-me-downs!  ✓
• Purge girls' clothes they've outgrown  ✓
• Pack bag for birth center/shop for the supplies I need to bring there✓
• Re-pack diaper bag for a newborn/3yr old/6 yr old  ✓
• Write thank you notes as gifts come ✓
• Buy 2 more nursing bras (diff sizes) + at least 1 new sleep bra  ✓ 
• Buy a new nursing pillow ✓
• Stockpile things like: crackers, pretzels, granola bars, etc.
• Make 2 nursing baskets (1 for upstairs, 1 for downstairs) ✓
• Get BIG SISTER gifts:  For Z ✓  For T  ✓
• Take family maternity pictures ✓
• Prepare an activity basket for Z&T for when I'm nursing
• Pack a "labor" bag for Z+T ✓ and put instructions inside✓
• Make labels of everyone we'll send a baby annc. to ✓
• Create baby annc/thank you notes, etc on Vistaprint, then just insert a pic once he's born and mail!  ✓
• Buy stamps, 3 books ✓
• Buy contact paper, put a large piece in baby book (to cover inky footprints) ✓  put baby book in labor bag  ✓
• Take each girl on a mommy date/daddy date
• Call the mohel to confirm we're on his calendar  ✓
• Get supplies on mohel's list for brit milah (circumcision)✓
• Prepare a few meals and freeze
• Arrange menu for brit and ask for help if needed✓
• Update Family Manual ✓ and print 3 copies ✓
• Stock the stockpile so that I don't have to buy any non-food items for at least 8 weeks (shampoo✓, razors✓, toilet paper, toothpaste, diapers✓, wipes, etc.)
• Make "Labor Playlist"✓, sync with iPod ✓

During Spring Break:

• Steam clean carpets✓
• Pay bills ahead if possible, clear all paperwork from desk
• Carseats✓

Week before due date:

• Charge cameras
• Dust/Vacuum ✓
• Buy a small birthday cake at Publix, freeze
• Shave!
• Do a fun date with the family
• Celebrate T's 3rd birthday, low key (on bday)

After baby arrives:

• Have a birthday party!
• Add to insurance
• Call the mohel, figure out date of brit milah
• Send announcements
• Put annc. in paper
• Thank you notes
• Make an appt with the pediatrician
• Take newborn pics 7-10 days postpartum
• Update Family Manual
• Update will/ open savings acct, etc.

Food Prepping for the Week

I can't tell you how many things I have looked up on Pinterest to try to get my food situation for my family of 4 (soon to be 5) organized, budget-trimmed, and non-food-wasting by Jan. 1, 2013.

Well, here are my first efforts.

My inspiration comes from this blog:
http://www.greenplaterule.com/health-nutrition/sunday-night-prep-to-eat-clean-all-week/
(You can also find her various Mason Jar Salad recipes there.)

I do think of all the things I have read, the most important is to PREP everything before you put your groceries away right when you get home.  So-- if you buy a bag of carrots--- wash and cut them up before they ever enter the fridge.

I also bought a bunch of square and rectangle storage in different sizes for easier fits (than circles).  I wish they were ALL glass, but the plastic was under $1 each compared to $9 for the glass Versaware I covet (and own 3 pieces of).  My hope is to slowly replace these and meanwhile ONLY use them to store and organize fresh foods (never anything hot, etc).  I am thinking of them as organizational bins.  The size I used the most of were the 64 oz rectangular bins.

First-- I tried all sorts of "The Perfect Grocery List", but in the end, I  used this list, which I love-- I hope that link has longevity-- it's: http://www.grocerylists.org/ultimatest/
I use the vegetarian one.

So-- my prep this week consisted of:

-Cleaning out the entire fridge and freezer and labeling shelves
-5 smoothies
-24 applesauce oatmeal muffins
-Cut veggies: cauli, broccoli, carrots, peppers
-1 mason jar salad (want to see how we like it first)
-Grapes
-2 school lunches
-Hard boiling 8 eggs
-Prepping 1 bag dry black beans
-Prepping 1 cup (dry) steel cut oats

It wasn't terribly exhaustive-- the hardest part as I'm sure many of you moms know-- was doing this with my 5 and 2 yr olds running around.  (Last day of Winter Break can be rough.)  It took me 3 hours including all interruptions, but I wasn't terribly efficient this time.

Here are some pictures that I hope help you kickstart your own prep.  I'd like to have done more, but am 6 mos pregnant and figured I'd start slow.  My goal is to be in the swing of this by the time baby comes, otherwise, it'll for sure be another thing I pinned the crap out of and only did once.  ;)  Most blogs I saw said it takes them just 60-90 minutes now to prep for the week.

Definitely worth it to me for the two biggest reasons:
1.  Waste less money
2.  Waste less time during the week
(I know healthy snacks for weight loss are many peoples top reason, but right now I want to save time and money!)

Good luck!

#1 Applesauce Muffins

Applesauce Muffin recipe: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Applesauce-Cinnamon-Oat-Muffins

These will be my go-to breakfast item-- for the entire family.

NO butter in these!  :)

I followed the recipe exactly, except I doubled it, used 2 whole eggs, and used an entire jar of organic applesauce--24 oz.  (Which is just a few extra tbsps applesauce).  

These are DENSE, but pretty healthy, and go great with a cup of tea.

#2 Smoothies

5 ziplocs-- in each one:

1 cut up banana, 4 frozen strawbs, 1 tbsp flax meal, 2-3 spinach leaves

FREEZE

Grab one, dump in blender & add 1 cup almond milk for a smoothie

#3 Veggies

 Cut up carrots (I don't peel, I like the skin, but peel now if you are a peeler.)  Cut up broccoli, celery, cauli, red and green peppers, etc-- put a small amount of fresh water at the bottom of the containers of celery & carrot.

 #4 Mason Jar Salad-- 

on the site I reference above, she has tons of different mason jar salads-- they stay good for 5 days and you just put dressing in and shake it up!

 Applesauce muffins are cooled and going into storage-- the 64 oz container fits 12 muffins.  12 into the freezer, and 12 on the counter.

 2 school lunches (adult and 5 yr old)-- I just kept taking leftovers and putting them into their lunches as I prepped.

 12 muffins and the 5 smoothies in the freezer-- sectioned off in their bins  :)

My two "prep shelves"-- food prepped & ready to be added to something...
 Cut up veggies, hardboiled eggs, beans, grapes, cooked steel cut oats all on my "prep" shelf.

Fridge cleaned out!!!!
Shelves:
Top- Drinks, yogurt, eggs
Next 2- Prep shelves
Drawer- Cheeses/Dairy
Shelf under dairy drawer- Leftovers
Top drawer- Salad Veggies
Bottom drawer- Other Veggies (broc, etc), Fruit

 My girls (2 and 5 yrs) washed and pulled all the grapes off the stems for better storage and easier grabbing/packing while I cut veggies

Butternut & Parsnip Squash Soup

Had this at a friend's house--- so delicious--- and combed the internet to find a recipe that seemed to match!

I have had butternut squash soup before and NOT liked it because I don't do sweet-regular.  Honey mustard?  Not for me.  But this was a nice savory soup...

Enjoy!

Adapted from a Diabetes recipe site:

Vegetarian Butternut Squash and Parsnip Soup

ingredients

1 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 2-lb. butternut squash, unpeeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, brushed with oil and roasted facedown, then scoop
1 lb. parsnips, peeled and cut crosswise into 2-inch chunks, roast with squash
3 sprigs fresh thyme (or ½  tsp ground)
1/4 cup water
1 medium Vidalia or other sweet onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth
1 cup plain soy milk (or substitute 1% milk)
Salt and pepper to taste
___________________________________________________________
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. In the bottom of a pan, set the squash (skin-side up) and parsnip pieces over the oil and top with the thyme sprigs. Add the water.
2. Roast uncovered for about 45 minutes until squash and parsnips are tender.
3. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a skillet. Add the onions and sauté for 4 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 2 minutes.
4. Remove pan from the oven. Let cool for about 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Scrape the squash pulp into a food processor or blender. Discard the skin. Discard the thyme sprigs. Add the parsnips and the sautéed onion and garlic mixture to the food processor. Puree the mixture until smooth. You may need to use 1/2 cup vegetable broth to process.
6. In a large heavy saucepan (pot?), heat the broth. Add the squash mixture and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes. Whisk in the soy milk—or half and half-- and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with parsley.

How to send your coupons in to the DuBow Preschool

The "New" Tzedakah

One family's recycling could be the preschool's treasure!

We have started a Coupon Team at the DuBow Preschool-- a team put together in an effort to reduce costs without actually reducing what we get.

Our goal is to get at least 50% participation from preschool families to bring in their coupon inserts from Sunday's paper.
(Don't get a Sunday paper?  Consider a subscription to give to the preschool!)
The Coupon Team will use those coupons to shop for snacks, paper products, etc. for the preschool at lowest possible cost.

In each Sunday paper, you'll find two inserts: 
Smart Source &
Red Plum

the FIRST weekend of every month you will also find a:
P&G insert (Proctor & Gamble).

There are NO coupons on holidays.

This might be the new trend for Tzedakah!

Directions:
1.  Remove all coupon inserts from the newspaper on Sunday
2.  Cut out any coupons you plan to use, keeping the booklet in order
3.  Please put the booklet AS IS into your child's school folder, do NOT cut out coupons-- (we can cross reference the coupon inserts to find specific coupons, it makes it much faster)
4.  If you come across loose coupons or printable coupons, please send those, too.

Are you an avid couponer?  Want to join the team?
Email Shereen!

School Birthday Ideas (non-food)

Non-Food Options:

Teachers:
-- Create a birthday book for child; each classmate creates a special page about the birthday child.

Parents:
--Provide goodie bags with stickers, pencils, pens, school supplies, crayons, noise makers etc.
-- Parent reads selected book of choice to class.

Book Club Questions for Beyond the Sling

We are reading Beyond the Sling for our book club this month.  If you want to join the discussion, it's June 7 at 9pm EST, RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/220073954759035/

I couldn't find any book club questions-- so I posted on Mayim Bialik's Facebook page and she didn't know of any either-- so I've crafted the ones I'm interested in hearing the answers to.
I started out calling her "Dr. Bialik", but then I keep hearing her singing, "You gotta live a little!  Love a little!  And let you poor heart break a little!" from Beaches... and so I called her Mayim.

Now, to be upfront:  I am a Jewish vegetarian mother who co-sleeps and nursed both babies--- but I came to this book with equal parts relief (co-sleeping, haven't spent a night away from my kids, cured my oldest's pinkeye with the youngest's breastmilk) and skepticism (elimination communication, gentle discipline-- I use 'time out' A LOT over here), so I think my questions are somewhat balanced!

1.  What was your knowledge of Attachment Parenting (AP) before you read this book?

2.  What struck you the most about this style of parenting? 

3.  Do you think your perspective and stance on this book would have been different if you read it before you had children?  What might your reaction have been before you had kids versus after becoming a parent?

4.  What parts of AP resonated with you as a mother?

5.  In the book Mayim mentions (re: sex/imtimacy) that no matter how you parent, trying to get your life back to 'before' isn't really an option.  Do you agree?  Is there pressure to 'get back to normal'?

6.  What parts --if any-- of AP do you disagree with?  Why do you disagree?  Do you feel those things could work for other families?

7.  Do you agree with Mayim--- that our culture convinces us we need a lot of "stuff" for our kids?  What is your family's definition of "too much stuff"?

8.  In the book, Mayim stresses that AP is not "all or nothing"--- do you think that lessens the pressure (or judgement) some moms feel?  Is it true?

9.  Why do you think parents seem to have trouble accepting other parents' styles?  In your own circle, do you feel there is judgement about the right/wrong way to parent?  Are there some "givens"?

10.  Have you ever kept some of your parenting choices a secret because you knew friends wouldn't understand--or simply because you didn't want to explain them? 

11.  What would you tell a young parent (if asked of course) the best parenting advice is?  What was the best advice you got?

12.  Did this book make you more open to (or accepting of) AP, or less?  In what way?

13.  What can we do to make the parenting community more collaborative and less competitive?

14.  What was your biggest takeaway after reading this book?